Patient falls in healthcare settings has long been a problem that despite many attempts to solve still continues to happen all too frequently. The solution most hospitals and long term care facililities have implemented in recent years are bed and chair alarms.
“To Err is Human.” That statement is known and appreciated by quality, production and safety managers. That we all make mistakes is certainly nothing new. Operational failures occur across all industries but the impact of errors can vary greatly between industries and companies. The healthcare industry has perhaps the best known impact of errors. Medical errors resulting in patient injury or death are quite costly. The Institute of Medicine published are report back in 2000 (To Err is Human) that stated these errors cost the in
There recently was a short article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in which a nursing home was cited for neglect in a resident’s death. In reading the information contained in the article I think a better, more accurate way to state the problem instead of neglect would have been to cite the nursing home for a breakdown in their resident care system. I see a lack of a systems approach using human factors for resident care. For if one was in place the death of the resident could have been prevented.
Electro Kinetic Technologies offers an array of battery powered solutions for material and “people” handling. A couple products stood out: The motorized scissor cart and electric patient transport chair.
How many people or friends do you know who work 12+ hour shifts or work long shifts several days in a row with little sleep? How many professions do you whose work requires the same? I can name at least 12 friends that I know who long hours. I also know the toll those hours take on them professionally and personally. As for professions, probably the first ones that come to mind are doctors, nurses, police, firefighters and military personnel. There are other workers who have similar work demands, although they may occur when production demands (i.e.
It’s common for people to make New Year’s resolutions that address their fitness and health. It’s also the time of year that companies develop goals and strategic initiatives for the year ahead as well. One resolution that companies should consider pertains to Total Worker Health™. It used to be that companies only had employee health and safety programs.
Have you ever had an experience with a product or a machine in which you said to yourself, “This is a poor design”? Or, have you ever walked into a space (office, store, restaurant, etc.) find yourself saying, “Why is this here and not over there?” or “What were they thinking (when they designed this)”?
Continuing on with my blog series on the four common reasons why employees don’t do what they’ve been trained, I’m going to take a closer look at perception. The scenario I’m going to use as the basis for this is one which is occurring in many hospitals and long term care facilities around the country: caregivers not using safe patient handling (SPH) equipment to move patients. This has become a source of frustration for many SPH program leaders. As you will see, the lack of SPH equipment use could easily involve all 4 reasons but for this blog we’ll focus only on perception.
The debate on whether gait belts are safe lifting devices for caregivers to use with patients who require assistance has been going on since safe patient handling (SPH) became a focus issue for healthcare facilities and caregivers alike. Just last week MNOSHA stated that they and NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) do not consider gait belts as “lifting devices”(MNOSHA e-newsletter, Safety Lines, http://www.dli.mn.gov/OSHA/PDF/7
